It's Kind of Like West Side Story
by hannibalchoo
Summary: The one Mercenary/Assassin AU where the RowdyRuff Boys and the Powerpuff Girls are both part of rival mercenary groups and somehow, they find love along the way. (Rated M just to be safe. Original Pairings)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello! This is a multi-fic chapter for the Powerpuff Girls television series. I hope everyone enjoys it!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Powerpuff Girls.

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It's Kind of Like West Side Story

-o-O-o-

_Chapter 1: Prologue_

Several gunshots fire in the shipyard's loading dock, the sound reverberating loudly against the metal crates. In the darkness and dim lights, two figures crouch, one on top of the metal crates and the other just below. The figure's blue eyes unhidden from the mask flashes as the figure carefully peeks from behind the crate. When the coast is clear, the figure moves fleetingly and the one on top of the metal crates follows after, jumping down and trailing after the blue-eyed figure with a precise quietness. It helps that they're clad in black as they wish to blend as much as possible in the darkness. Yet unfortunately, three guards suddenly pop out in front of them, brandishing their guns at the front, their fingers ready to pull the trigger.

"Stop where you are, Girls!" One of them roars arrogantly. However, the two figures glance at each other and then jump to roll forward to hide behind the nearest crates. The guards jump into action after a moment of shock, firing in front of them, but they recover quickly enough to stop and look around for the two figures in black. One of them curses and the arrogant guard yells at them to be quiet. Meanwhile, the figures clamber with an expert limberness behind the crates and sneakily crouches and trails on their hands and feet, stopping as they wait behind the crates at the guards' rears.

"Come out, come out, Girls." The arrogant guard calls in a mocking, taunting tone. "We promise not to hurt you!"

There's a tense moment of silence as the guards flex their fingers around the trigger and swallow down their nervousness (which they shouldn't be since they're supposed to be trained for this kind of thing). And then, silently, the two figures slip out from behind the crates, wrap their hands around the guards' chins and heads and twist it quickly. An audible snap of bone breaking echoes and softly, the bodies fall onto the ground, their guns clattering to the floor. The arrogant one is left standing in surprise and, was that fear? But he was quick to grit his teeth and he charges at the girls with a load roar. They sidestep and the blue eyed figure grabs at the arrogant guard, twists his arm and pins it to his back. A trail of sweat runs down the guard's neck as he struggles and screeches to be let go.

"If I were you," says the blue-eyed figure in the sweetest tone of voice, "I would have just kept my mouth shut." It's the last thing the arrogant guard hears before he glances up to find grass green eyes staring back at him and then nothingness.

The blue-eyed figure drops the body and claps her hands, dusting off the dirt from the dead body. "That takes care of that."

The green-eyed figure nods, mutters something under her breath and looks around then launches herself forward to continue on with their mission. The blue-eyed figure rushes after the other, hissing out for the other to slow down. It makes the other roll her eyes but she does relent, a little.

They slow down as they reach a grey, dull building with its outside lights flickering, as if uneasy. The two figures look at it in all its boring and so expected glory then start scaling the walls to the second floor window. They break into it easily—_too easily_—one of them thinks as they slip inside, their feet tapping ever so slightly on the cement floors as they land onto a crouch and stand up in a flourish. They pad carefully towards one of the doors, knowing that was the place where their mark hid. Judiciously, they turn the knob and open it, seeing their mark at the far front, his back turned to his intruders as he busies himself on his computer. The light from the portable electronic glows brightly around their mark and they silently make their way forward, stalking their prey and waiting for the right moment to pounce as they both brandish small knives, glinting dimly in the room. However, the moment is interrupted when the lights flash brazenly, distracting the two figures. They jump back, stepping into fighting stances as they shield their eyes from the light and hide their knives away.

"We meet again, Girls." A voice from the doorway says.

They turn and squint to find a tall figure in a mask coming in, followed by another in a mask and several guards. One of the girls swears and tenses further, curling her fingers into fists. She knows this would probably happen at some point and she definitely won't go out without a fight. She surveys the area quickly, spotting all the exit areas as she warily glares at the two tall men clad in black and the guards that surround them, the mark all but sitting in his spot, forgotten. Her partner next to her presses her lips into a thin line against her mask. It looks like they were going to have to switch to an improvised plan.

"You fell for our trap too, how convenient." The tall figure says as his piercing cobalt blue eyes searchingly stares at the two girls clad in black. _Impressive_, he thinks to himself as he steps forward a little. "Any last words?"

The green-eyed girl wants to spit at the other's face, but she can't, due to the mask covering almost the entirety of her head. Instead, she shakes her head and glances at her partner and inclines her head to the door, seeing as that there was nothing blocking it. Her partner catches this subtle motion and nods imperceptibly as a small escape plan formulates in her mind.

The tall, blue-eyed figure shrugs, unable to catch the small motions and places a hand up to signal the guards to ready their guns. "I can't say I'll miss having you Girls around to mess with our assignments again." He says nonchalantly with a bored expression. "Goodbye."

Yet, as the guards are about to fire, the blue-eyed girl yanks at one of the guns, pulls the guard forward and steals one of his flash grenades. She unpins it, chucking it in their direction while she makes a run for the door. This motion catches everyone by surprise as the flash grenade explodes, causes a piercing shriek and a jarring sound echoes in the small room. It disorients almost everybody and it catches the girls just slightly but they are able to bolt out of the room safely. The two men clad in black grit their teeth and cover their ears as the effects slowly ease away. But that doesn't stop them and they stand up, bearing the disorientation as they run out the door to chase after the girls in black. The guards follow suit as one by one they snap out of their confusion.

Meanwhile, the two girls sprint, hopping down from the second floor and onto one of the metal crates. Their footsteps ring against the metal as they softly breathe through their noses and try to escape their pursuers. The green-eyed girl's hand flies up to her ear and presses something and a small crackle pierces through as the earpiece comes to life.

"Cardinal, it's Blackbird." The green-eyed girl murmurs in annoyance. "The Boys trapped us but Nightingale created a diversion long enough for us to escape." She and her partner duck as the sound of gun fire echoes again and several bullets ricochet off the metal plates.

On the other side of the earpiece is a worried looking girl with bright amber eyes. She quickly types on her keyboard and she shifts her attention to one of the top corner screens. "I can't believe you made me sit out of this one, Blackbird." She responds while she makes a hand motion to somebody from behind her. "I thought you could handle it."

"Now isn't the time for that, _Cardinal_." The green-eyed girl hisses out while looking behind her, only to find that more guards were chasing after them now and at the head of them are the two men clad in black. _Fuck_, she thinks as she drops down and runs along the cement tops of the dock with the blue-eyed girl, who's looking a bit panicky and gazes pleadingly at the green-eyed girl, as if to say, _Can you please get us out of here, now?_

The girl on the other sides exhales. "Alright," she says with finality as she maneuvers several windows on her computer and types up several more things. "I've sent a chopper on your way. Just keep running for about a few more minutes and then you'll have to listen to my directions."

"A few minutes, Cardinal?" She whispers harshly against her earpiece in disbelief, "We don't have a few minutes!"

"Blackbird, you will have to deal with that. As you know, there has yet to be choppers that can fly at supersonic speeds."

"Augh, just—whatever, fine." She grumbles reluctantly. "Nightingale and I will split up. Make sure you talk to her." She adds as she slaps at the blue-eyed girl's hand and taps at the side of her ear, signaling for her to turn up her earpiece.

The blue-eyed girl takes a breath and presses at her earpiece, wincing a bit as the static crackles against her ears. "This is Nightingale. What's up, Cardinal?"

The girl on the other side starts explaining their plan and she nods quickly, looking over at the green-eyed girl with determination. Once the voice on her earpiece finishes explaining, she makes a noise of confirmation. The green-eyed girl glances back at her and with one more look, they jump and split up. The blue-eyed girl forks over to the right while the other swings left. This brings definite puzzlement to their pursuers, but they think it'll be easier to catch them now that they could easily overpower the girls with one versus fifty (at the least) people.

"I'll take the right and you'll take the left." The cobalt blue-eyed man tells the other figure. The other figure shoots him a glare with his dark, forest green eyes before he relents and signals some other men to follow him as he ducks left and chases after the other girl.

The chase is a bit longer than the girls expect it to be as they find their pursuers split up as well. They trail after them like a group of rabid dogs after their next meal and the girls are more determined than ever to lose their trails. Most of the guards holler at them to stop or shoot at them wildly, but that only riles up the two girls and one of them, the green-eyed one, was able to trip them up. She's able to swing up onto one of the cranes and climb onto the nearest guard, grabbing at his gun as she hits him hard on the head. Jumping off, she starts shooting before using the gun as a baseball bat when it runs out of ammunition and hits the guards at their weak points. Of course, she throws the gun at the tall man after her and leaps gracefully to her feet, landing and springing back to her feet in one quick motion. The tall man after her sidesteps and clenches his teeth in irritation but in excitement as well. He always loves a good chase after all.

Meanwhile, her blue-eyed collaborator tries her best not to confront any of the guards, especially the tall man with the same color eyes as her. Instead, she uses many evasion tactics, slipping and sliding all over the place and hiding in the shadows and soundlessly clambering over obstacles. However, it was a bit difficult to shake off her pursuers as the one who leads them is quick to notice her movements and predict part of her stratagems as he often uses them himself. It brings a tiny smile on his face. A good challenge is something he likes every now and again and this girl, well, she is a _definite_ challenge.

Thankfully though, the girl on the earpiece finally speaks again after what seems like an eternity and starts handing out instructions to both her teammates. The two are quick to follow, desperate to escape from this hellhole. They maneuver themselves around the dock until they converge towards one of the piers. They nod at each other and both glance back as they spot their pursuers converging as well and still sprinting after them like mad men.

However, a loud whirring noise interrupts them from their reverie and they glance up to find their savior finally come to save them. Clamping their teeth together, both girls bolt, using this opportunity to find momentum as their feet push at the ground. They spring up along the large metal crates and finally, they manage to vault themselves over to the rope ladders hanging from the chopper. They wrap their fingers securely around one of the rungs and swing their bodies onto the ladders as they find their footing. Both girls pant, catching their breaths while they look behind them. The green-eyed girl can't help but raise her hand and flip them off with an irritated glare as they fly away. Take that, losers.

Below, their pursuers glower up at them in anger and annoyance. The tall, green-eyed figure in black flips the girl back which earns him a swat to the shoulder from the other figure beside him. The blue-eyed man holds up a hand to signal his squad not to fire at the helicopter as they spot the large machine gun aimed at their group while the chopper turns and flies away safely.

After a moment of silence, the green-eyed man glances at the man next to him. "You know, Khan's gonna be pissed when he finds out that you let the Girls go, right?"

The blue-eyed man scrunches his nose up a bit at this and then levels the other with a stare. "You know, the mark's still alive, right?" He shoots back with a hint of smugness, "So I'm pretty sure Khan wouldn't mind if the Girls escaped."

The green-eyed man's eyebrows shoot up slightly as the corner of his lips quirk up into a smirk, "Touché, Churchill, touché."

"Thanks, I try." He replies with a little pride. "We should get back now and check on the mark. We kinda left him there by himself."

"Shit, you're right." Then he shrugs in nonchalance, "Eh, I don't really give a shit. You go check on him."

It makes the blue-eyed man sigh in exasperation, "Fine, but you're telling Khan what happened." He spits back as he turns on his heel and starts for the grey building.

"Aw shit, really?" The green-eyed man grunts in annoyance and then pulls out his phone from his pocket, speed dialing a certain number. Once the ringing stops and a small noise filter through the speakers, he opens his mouth, "So listen, Khan. It's Hannibal." He kicks at the dirt as he continues to speak, inclining his head slightly.

"Yeah, the mark's doin' fine, man." He looks up at the clouded night sky whilst trotting along the pier, "The Girls? Uh, about that…"

-o-O-o-

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**A/N:** Yeah, I know it's pretty ambiguous from the beginning, but I'm a pretty big fan of doing that. I'm definitely taking off the ambiguity and keeping it as clear as possible in the next chapter. I hope it wasn't too confusing for anyone. I had to rewrite that a bunch of times, heh.

The rating will remain '_M_' just to be safe. I'm not sure how far I'll get into it, but since it's a Mercenary/Assassins AU of sorts, I don't want to risk anything too graphic. Also, a little warning: I don't currently have a beta at the moment, so there may be some mistakes.

Anyhow, I'll try my best to update soon! Please do drop some Reviews. It'd be greatly appreciated!

Until next time!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, it looks like another chapter for this story! I tried my best with it and I hope everyone finds it alright. I don't exactly have a beta so there may be some mistakes.**

**EDIT: Frick, I forgot to mention this is a HUMAN AU so I've changed Blossom and Brick's eye color to match something closer to natural occurring eye colors. I'm sorry for those who got confused!**

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own the Powerpuff Girls and its associated characters. I only own any original characters and stuff._

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It's Kind of Like West Side Story

-o-O-o-

_Chapter 2: The Mark_

_Three months later…_

It's three in the morning and the sun is barely up and peeking over the horizon. The fog carefully blankets the airport tarmac, leaving a quiet and peaceful, yet slightly eerie impression among the airport's current (and only) customers for the day. There are three sleep deprived nineteen year olds stumbling after their forty-something year old boss. Their short, stocky boss, who goes by Mojo Jojo and holds the codename "Caesar", leads them to a private jet that's sitting idly on the tarmac. The man tugs at his crisp suit and runs a hand (roughened with calluses) through his cropped, dark hair and rubs at his bearded chin. (Absently, he ponders about whether to shave later on for his date at eight o'clock tonight.) He wears a glare that seems to be permanently etched on his face ("It was how I was born, _thank you very much_." He responds indignantly when the boys ask him why he's always got such a sourpuss look) and thin, down turned lips that make him look even angrier. He furtively glances over at the boys trailing behind him and he rolls his eyes. He knows he's trained them better than that, but then again, he couldn't always ask too much from them. He pulls out his smart phone and checks on it as he clambers up into his beloved jet, the Alexander, named after Alexander the Great, one of his many favorite military leaders.

As he climbs in and sits on the cushioned sofas on the left side of the plane, he looks up and observes the three boys he adopted and raised as his own. Following after him is Brick, the eldest of the trio (being born January) and better known as "Khan" in their group. He's an expert at battle tactics and is quick to formulate his own stratagems, which more often than not keep them out of trouble. Because of that, he's more or less the brains of the group, despite protests from the middle brother. He stands at an exact six feet in height with dark brown eyes that often hold an intense and serious gaze. His hands are hidden in his pockets, although one slips out to adjust the cherry red cap that's covering part of his copper red locks that frame his neck and face and brushes just past his shoulders. He's wearing a quick outfit composed of a jersey jacket with red sleeves, a black band shirt and dark-wash jeans which hide a pair of Retro Jordan(s) sneakers in a red and black color scheme. He's got no problem staying alert as he is a morning person and he didn't really care if it was three in the morning, or seven. It looks like his biological clock is just fucked up.

Trailing after Brick is Boomer, the second eldest of the trio as he is the spring child born in April. He's code-named "Churchill" since, despite his timid demeanor, he's very good at public speech and communications in general. He's also really big on technological things and electronics, which makes him really happy every time he gets to be behind a keyboard and screen during missions. He carries the same height as his brother before him but his eyes are the color of cobalt blue and he often wears a charming, dimpled smile that girls (and sometimes guys) swoon over. His bangs are a bit long, swaying over his eyes when not styled like wingtips. He's got his hands just swinging along his sides, brushing against the dark blue denim jacket he has on. Underneath the jacket is a plaid shirt hanging over a pair of loose fitting, vintage washed jeans and on his feet is a pair of blue grey Timberlands that thump heavily on the metal stairs. He stalks over to the empty seat on the redhead's left side and he sinks into the soft cushions, sighing in content as his eyes flutter shut to get some seconds of sleep. The redhead nudges him a little, which makes him jump. Right. He's got to stay awake just for a little while.

The last among the troupe is the youngest named Butch. He was born in the hot summer of July and he usually goes by "Hannibal" during their missions. He often claims to be the toughest shit and to be an expert at all kinds of fighting and combat techniques, including—but not limited to—vehicular, air and weaponry. Surprisingly, he's also good at research as well as persuading people (through manipulation and violence most likely). At the moment, his face is laxer compared to his usual look: lips twisted up into a smirk and defiant, dark green eyes that burn with confidence. (Hey, he knows he's hot and he's definitely using it to his advantage.) He's got several piercings lining his ears and then some, which he didn't bother putting on that day. He's got on his signature black, leather jacket, a tight-fitting, green wife-beater shirt underneath it with some black skinny jeans that hug his long legs and a pair of green mid-cut Chuck Taylor All Stars that is sloppily laced. He grunts as he walks in, blinking blearily while squinting. He can barely keep his eyes up considering it was three in the goddamned morning. He plops down on the seats in a careless manner, earning him the stink-eye from Mojo (which he ignores because he's already used to it) as he yawns and slumps back against the cushions to the spot right of the redhead.

Mojo eyes the boys, narrowing his black eyes a bit as he continually watches the boys in silence. He wishes they were more awake than this, but it can't be helped. Luckily for them though, a stewardess swoops in and saves the day by taking their orders while Mojo waits _patiently_ for them to order since he is a very patient man. _Very patient_. Quickly, the three nineteen year olds ask for their usual morning drinks. Brick asks for his black tea, Boomer _graciously_ requests (yes, because he's actually polite, especially when it comes to women) for some hot white chocolate while Butch grumbles for their strongest, black coffee. When the stewardess finally flutters off with her notepad in hand, Mojo clears his throat and pulls out several folders and neatly piles them on top of the box-shaped glass table. This garners the boys' attention. Folders meant new assignments. And new assignments meant more chances of getting paid.

For a few moments, the boys' boss is quiet and then he starts to speak. "I have acquired for us another assignment that, hopefully, does not attract any attention from _Phoenix_." He spits out the name with a little bitterness and venom and it reflects on the boys as they are not big fans of the organization as well. Phoenix is one of the top mercenary organizations that hold several groups in their hands, using them to carry out missions from independent clients. And as it is, Phoenix is their competition. Their own company, named Ouroboros, runs the same scheme. But despite having similar operations, the two companies have drastically different modus operands and methods about dealing with certain things. Because of these differences, both companies rub each other the wrong way and they've been trying to topple one another ever since.

"As we all know, the nation of South Belheim will be having their elections very soon." Mojo continues off, gesturing his hand a little. "However, everyone also knows how corrupt their current politicians are."

The redhead rolled his eyes while the brunet scoffed. Of course. It's always about politics.

The man twitches but he pays them no mind. "It is a definite boon for us mercenaries though, because, as of last week, one of the candidates was discovered in his campaign office with a bullet hole through his forehead. Therefore, the remaining two candidates are now scrambling to find new guards _and_ assassins." The corner of his lips tugs up to form a tiny, sardonic smile as he opens the folder on top and slides it over for the boys to see.

"Our target is Marcus Adler." The boss states with a somber tone as he spreads out the pictures of the man and places aside the copies of all the files about their mark. "He is running against our current client, who has chosen to remain anonymous."

Ah, the beauty of anonymity. But as it is, the boys are smart and it wouldn't take much to figure out the face of their client. All three of the boys lean forward, examining the photos of their target. There's a photo of him stepping out of his car, one with him making his campaign speech, and another with him eating at a restaurant with a lady whose face is peppered full of freckles and a head of wild curls, which strike the boys as familiar. They place that detail in the back of their minds as they continue to peruse through the images. The trio picks up on the man's features: mousy brown hair that's been gelled back way too many times, an average height and a stocky body hidden under the suit that's one size too big for him, a smile accompanied by teeth too white and a jawline that's a bit on the soft side. Butch wrinkles his nose at the man. He can see the type of guy he is: charming, friendly and idealistic. He's somebody you could bring home to your parents without any suspicion. Brick assumes the man's easily swayed, judging from his often unsure and confused looks when talking to what looked like his personal assistant, a team of people and the same woman with the mop of wild curls. Boomer, for his part, notes that Adler relies too much on his electronics, as he always sees him on his phone, which was the latest iPhone model. He could probably easily hack into it and swipe all his information. They notice all that and much, much more. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. _What a poor sod_, they all think as they glance up towards Mojo, who's gone quiet for the moment.

When Mojo catches the boys' eye, he sits up and adjusts his tie as he pulls out another folder, which contains a drawn up contract. "Our client wants him dead." He resumes as his eyes flit about on the page, "The client is willing to pay a large sum and we must make sure to do it discreetly. There needs to be a perfect alibi and he does not want any incriminating evidence that will point to him or trace back to him." As with all the clients anyway. None of them wanted to be responsible or get their hands dirty after all. It kind of made the boys irritated, especially Butch, since he thinks they're all pussies for not owning up to their own mess. But hey, he gets paid for it and who was he to really complain?

Mojo closes the folder and draws back against the cushions just as the stewardess comes by with the boys' drinks. The trio shows their thanks in their own way before the stewardess leaves for the little cubby at the back once more. Each boy sips carefully at their drinks while waiting for their boss to continue on.

"He is currently vacationing in one of the island resorts around Sicily. According to my sources, it seems he is taking a supposed 'break' before the elections actually begin." He informs with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. It's evident he doesn't like Adler and he's a bit glad they got the client that wanted him gone too. He thinks Adler is a pathetic waste of space with his idealistic views and empty promises. He wonders how the man was even able to run as a presidential candidate.

"I take it that's where we're heading?" Brick asks with an arched eyebrow as he takes another sip from his cup.

"Yes, we are heading to the island resort as we speak." He replies with a nod.

Boomer and Butch cheer at this, with the blond beaming happily while the brunet does a silent fist pump. A beach resort near Italy! How awesome was that? Gorgeous ladies and gorgeous guys and authentic Italian food for the soul? Hell to the yeah!

Mojo snorts at the two boys as he hands them some brochures from the resort. "We will arrive precisely at noon at the resort. I have reserved a hotel for us for a couple of weeks; however we cannot stay too long. We must complete this assignment before the elections come to pass."

At that, Butch and Boomer deflate and their expressions shift to ones of disappointment. But they resolve to enjoy as much of their time as they could in the resort. After all, the trio could get their own vacation times at some point and when they do, they might come back to the resort. It looked good, judging from the pamphlet and brochure that they all are flipping through.

"Well, what else do we need to know?" Brick asks, eyeing Mojo expectantly.

Butch sniffs at this and rolls his eyes. How predictable of Brick. He thinks the redhead just thinks too much and spends way too much of his time deliberating and contemplating. But maybe that was a leader thing. He probably wanted all the details concerning the guy too. He mentioned before it's supposed to help him formulate all the boy's plans as well as back up plans and back, _back_ up plans as well as back, back, _back _up plans. They have definitely learned their lesson because of one incident that fucked up and they didn't have a back, back up plan. Saying that it was a disaster was an understatement. They're surprised they made it out of that one alive.

Mojo takes a deep breath and starts rambling, handing them each a thick pile of papers held together by a large paper clip. Brick continues to pay attention while going through the files, Boomer barely catches everything and Butch only sighs, wrinkling his nose as he tries his very best to pay attention. Whatever helps make the time pass faster, he supposes.

Meanwhile, in a one of the quaint cafés in the resort, there sits a trio of ladies and one, tall man. The tall man is "Professor X" in the workplace but he's better known to the ladies as Professor Jack Utonium, their caretaker and (adoptive) father. He gazes adoringly at his three lovely girls with a small smile on his face as he examines them all one by one. The first one he observes is "Cardinal"—better known as Blossom to those close to her—the self-proclaimed leader of the group. Understandable though, as she is older, born in the month of February. Plus, her strength lay strongly in strategy and tactics as she is able to quickly come up with solutions to problems and improvisations to said solutions—not that she did not have any other skills in her resume. In fact, she has much, much more she could offer (and so did her sisters). He watches the sun glint off her long, strawberry blonde hair gathered into a neat ponytail that's tied by a strip of red ribbon. Her skin is a creamy pale color barely littered with freckles and her slender body is clothed in a pink blouse with small, poofy sleeves and her midsection is cinched with a black belt. On her legs are white capris and on her feet are comfortable, black ballerina flats. He catches her light amber eyes looking up from a book, eyebrows raised with a questioning look and he only responds with a wider smile as he moves on with his observation.

Next to Blossom is the youngest among the trio, Bubbles, also known as "Nightingale" in the company. She's born in December, the winter season and coincidentally, it is also her favourite season. She's an expert in many areas, which makes her the Jack of all Trades in their mercenary group. But she's widely popular for the laughter and joy she brings to the group as well as the melodious voice that she possesses. When she sings, many people always find themselves enchanted and soothed (depending on the song, of course). Right now, the Professor watches as her hand clutches at a pencil, flies across the page of her sketchbook and occasionally draws back her platinum blond curls that fall just below her shoulder blades. Every now and then, her light blue eyes flicker up to the window, focusing on the scenery of people walking and talking outside. Her legs are crossed, hiking up a bit of Bubbles' outfit: an ocean blue strapless sundress embraces her body and it's tied off with a ribbon at the waist and from there descends three layers of ruffles that reach halfway down her knees. A light cream cropped, canvas jacket fits over her shoulders and her mist blue painted toenails peek out from her open toed brown clogs dotted with small studs at the large strap. In a few moments, he too attracts Bubbles' attention and she smiles back at him with glee but a slightly puzzled look reflects in her eyes.

He moves on to the last and the middle child of the trio. Buttercup, despite her (very deceptive) cute name, is definitely the strongest and toughest one out of the three but her often stubborn and reckless nature leaves her a bit uncontrollable. But over the years, she's learned to calm herself down when necessary, now knowing that it was a more dangerous combination to have a little more brains behind the brawn. She goes by "Blackbird" in the group and she's an avid fan of weapons, technology and types of fighting and combat, making her a bit more of an expert about those areas than her sisters (although, as mentioned before, their skill set definitely is a wide variety) because of her tendency to work out more, Buttercup's muscles are a bit more defined, but of course, she still has some lovely curves. Her attention is currently on the laptop sitting on the café table. One hand is pressing a pair of headphones to her ears and the other is tapping away quickly on the laptop. The Professor's eyes sweep over Buttercup's form, seeing that she's got her hair up in a messy do and she's donned on a loose green plaid shirt with rolled up sleeves. Since it's unbuttoned, it reveals the black shirt underneath it, which is carefully tucked into some cut off jean shorts and some black and white schemed Air Jordan Force XII sneakers that are loosely laced, leaving the tongue to be opened up just a bit. He's clearly amused and sees her flick her attention to him just a little before switching back to her laptop.

They sit idly for a few minutes in the front corner near the large window of the café. The Professor shifts and picks up his cup of coffee with milk and sips it, savouring the taste that swirls on his tongue. He adjusts his white jacket and checks his watch. They're not waiting on anything or anyone. They're merely enjoying the moment, the quiet sunshine filtering outside from the morning time sun and the hustle and bustle of people passing by. After a few moments, the Professor pulls out a tablet from his bag and sets it down in front of the three ladies. They all respond to his action quickly, pulling out their own customized smart phones, but not in a simultaneous fashion. The Professor's lips tug up into a proud smile as he picks up the tablet and drums it to life. Once the tablet kicks in, he taps a couple of things, flicks at the screen with his fingers before he glances up expectantly towards the trio. He's just sent them several encrypted files about their next mission and it explains why they're staying at the resort for several weeks. They've done this more often than not because they didn't want anyone hearing about their conversation nor did they want anything to leak out. It was also just useful as well, because the Professor didn't have to talk much.

The trio meticulously scrutinizes the documents on their screens, absorbing all the information they just received. The documents entail their client, a man by the name of Marcus Adler. He's hiring them as his bodyguards as he's worried and paranoid that he might be killed next. His paranoia is due to the fact that one of the presidential candidates were killed just weeks ago in his own office. Blossom sighs quietly. She already knows all of this and quickly scrolls down. She stops when she spots the tidbit about Adler's remaining rival, Todd Koning. It looks like he's hired the infamous RowdyRuff Boys from the company Ouroboros. Her gaze shifts up and she looks over to her sisters who catch her gaze. Buttercup's lips split into a smirk while Bubbles shoots her a mischievous smile. It looks like the other two spotted the piece of information as well. The Professor hides a small grin behind his coffee cup, knowing that the girls saw the piece of information they wanted to see the most. He could already see the gears churning in their minds.

Oh, this mission is definitely going to be _fun._

-o-O-o-

* * *

**A/N: **

**And there it is folks! the second chapter!**

**I did my best to describe most of the main characters and I might bring up more later most likely. I hope this chapter cleared up some things for people! I might also switch around the tenses and points of view if it's needed or if I can gauge which point of view is better to tell in.**

** I'll try to update again as soon as possible and when I have time. **

**Thanks for reading and as always, reviews, follows and favourites are highly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **It's the most wonderful time of the year! Just kidding.

_To Lys Dis:_ I thought it was appropriate for Boomer to be born in the Spring. I just though it suited him best, so Butch came in last as I imagined he would be born in the Summer months. And as for Boomer's sexuality, I'm pretty sure he's bisexual. But the story's focus isn't really their sexuality, so it shouldn't be too much trouble. Besides, he probably just admires an excellently hot body just as much as the next person.

And so we move forth to the next chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Powerpuff Girls, else I would have explored their teenage years. Probably.

* * *

It's Kind of Like West Side Story

-o-O-o-

Chapter 3

Brick, for most of the plane ride, was flipping through the files on Mark Adler, noting any distinguishing details in a separate file. His brothers were mostly flickering between the state of awake and drowsiness, although Butch was more or less wired from the four and a half cups of coffee he ordered throughout the duration of the flight. Sometimes, it surprised Brick how Butch could survive his amount of coffee intake. But then again, the world worked in mysterious ways. So Butch would probably survive his coffee addiction for probably fifty more years or so. The redhead set down the file for a bit, closing his eyes to allow them to rest. However he was quick to snap them open when he heard Boomer's victorious chirp next to him.

"I found him!" The blond called to both his brothers as he glanced up from his spot, lips twisted into a triumphant grin. His brothers eagerly crowded over to him, Butch sidling and pressing up against Boomer's body, throwing one arm over his shoulder to get closer while Brick (who valued some personal space, _thank you_) shifted close enough so he could catch a glimpse of the laptop's monitor. Boomer didn't mind Butch's closeness as he was used to it after all.

"His name's Todd Koning." Boomer began as he scrolled through and pulled up more files regarding their client, "He's a former military man who worked under South Belheim's Army division since he was fresh out of high school. He climbed through the ranks pretty quickly and managed to reach Colonel Status before moving on to work in politics. Since he had connections, Koning was able to incorporate into his hometown as part of the City Council, then Mayor four years later. He hopped onto the city's Governor Position then pressed on to be part of their Assembly after several years. And now, he's running for President of the entire country." The blond concluded, looking up at his brothers again with proud eyes.

"Good job, Blondie." Butch said teasingly as he patted Boomer's back. "What about the guy's private life though? Any juicy scandals and gossip he got involved in? Some blackmail material, maybe?" That had Brick rolling his eyes but he was definitely on board with the last part. Blackmail was definitely good material in case things went sour between the company and the client.

The blond made a thoughtful noise as he focused on the screen, fingers flying all over the keyboard as he filtered through several lines of data. He spotted several things and pulled them all up as well, letting his brothers view the open windows. "Well, it looks like he was involved in the usual sex scandal three years ago which died down pretty quickly." Boomer supplied as he kept perusing through the database, in case he missed anything, "There's some minor lawsuits but nothing big."

Brick suddenly spotted something and pointed at a file, "Pull that one up."

The blond stopped and clicked on it, quickly latching onto the information that the file contained. "Well, shit." He murmured under his breath, eyes widening slightly as he continued to read through the file.

"Looks like we found _a_ blackmail material," Butch commented with a smirk on his lips as he read through it as well. "I didn't think the guy would actually involve himself in Nuclear weapons and experimentation."

Brick snorted. "They always are, but this one is pretty big. I heard rumors about this but I bet they made sure to shut anyone down who was involved in this." The redhead reached out to the touch screen and flipped through the files. "Let's see. Ah, he funded it for the most part; hm. Discovered new chemical…Ah, here's the experimentation part. Do you think you could look up more files on this, Boomer?"

The blond nodded and cracked his knuckles. "Give me a couple of minutes. I bet I can bypass their security databases in Belheim in less than five minutes. I hear their firewalls are pretty leaky." He boasted a little. Both his brothers rolled their eyes but waited as Boomer did his job. True to his word, he managed to score several files that they needed and found exactly what they were looking for in a matter of minutes. He copied the information in a separate flash drive and then escaped out of Belheim's system before they would notice anything major. If anything, the system would only trace their line back to some backwoods small town in America.

"Okay, let's see what we've got." The blond extracted the information out and opened them. Most were files but there were few grainy documentations of the operation. They watched the five videos in silence, all of which were barely under an hour. Each video documented a number of days, the longest one being eight days. The first one was about the discovery of a chemical, which they had creatively named "Chemical X". It seemed the Chemical had nuclear properties but it did not have any adverse effects on the human body, unless a subject ingested the pure substance itself. It got the scientists to try and see if the Chemical would be more compatible with the human body if it was mixed with other elements. Apparently because of that, they started experimenting on human nuclear bombs. Boomer visibly flinched at some of the pretty horrific and gory parts of the experiments, which was basically the rest of the four videos. From what the boys could see, Chemical X was not quite as compatible with many bodies as the scientists thought and even then, the chemical only stayed stable for a short amount of time before the subject's body exploded into bits and pieces. Once the last video ended, they boys remained quiet before Boomer flexed his fingers to stop the slight tremors on his hands and he clicked on the follow up files. The files provided the last segment regarding the fifth video. The government of South Belheim found out about their experiments and they stopped the group before they could carry on anymore experiments to refine the Chemical and test it out on a younger age group. It looked like they were considering experimenting on children as well. The boys noticeably shuddered slightly. Even if they were mercenaries, they weren't that immoral and cold hearted. Their client was definitely a ruthless man from what they could see since the government seizure didn't stop Koning from opening a new operation, hiding it under a different pseudonym and beginning with a new set of scientists, except for the one man who discovered the chemical. It looked as if the operation was still in effect, however, Koning placed in on a sort of hiatus because of a certain man.

"Well, well." Brick muttered as he double tapped on a picture on the file. "Look who it is." It was no surprise (to Brick anyway) when the picture zoomed in and all the boys zeroed in on Mark Adler, idly standing in the back of the group shot.

"Are you fuckin' serious?" Butch snarled under his breath, "This guy's involved too? What the hell?"

Boomer blinked and went through to find more interconnected files about the operation. "Oh, look here. It's a telephone log between Koning and Adler." He announced, bringing back the boy's attention to him. Holding their breaths, they clicked play and listened as the audio track played.

- [Audio Recording Starts] -

_[A static crackling and then a click]_

_[Adler, taking a deep breath] Hello?_

_[Koning, breathing heavily against the receiver] You motherfucker!_

_[Adler, in slight panic] Fuck—Koning? Shit, what the hell do you want, you crazy bastard?_

_[Koning, growling angrily] I know about your plans, you little fucker! _

_[Adler, in a mix of anger and fear] I—it's—what I'm doing is right, you crazy fool! The country has the right to know about your psychotic schemes!_

_[Koning, barking out a dry laugh] Like they'd believe a fucking wimp like you!_

_[Adler, annoyed now and even more furious] You shut your fucking mouth, bastard. I'm running for presidential candidate and when I win, I'm exposing __**all **__of your crazy ideas!_

_[Koning, snarling at the receiver] You utter shit! You think you can win against me? Watch and see, Adler. I'm going to win this candidacy and you're going to be dead by the end of this fucking election run. _

_[Adler, gulping but still angry] Fuck you, Koning. If you think I'm going to run and hide, you're dead wrong. I'm not afraid of you and I'm not backing down. _

_[Adler slams down the receiver]_

_[Koning roars and there's a crushing noise before the line dies]_

- [Audio Recording Stops] -

There was a long pause between the three boys as they sat there in silence, contemplating what they just heard. They glanced at each other and then Boomer lurched forward, sweeping his fingers across the keyboard. He started collecting more files connected to the operation as his brothers considered what all this meant. They were in too deep now and this was some delicious, juicy blackmail. They could catch the entire network behind the operation and they could use them against Koning if the crazy bastard tried anything.

"It would make sense why he wants Adler dead." Brick murmured as he took out a notepad and started scribbling on the paper, his surprisingly neat handwriting filling the pages. "But what about the third candidate? Who killed _him_?"

Butch couldn't help rolling his eyes and snorting. "It could just be Koning trying to threaten Adler." He reasoned out, waving his hand around, "If Koning's the kind of guy I think he is, then he won't hesitate to take out any oppositions with any means necessary."

"For once, you could be right, Butch." The redhead smirked.

_Condescending shit_, Butch thought with a small frown furrowing on his face. "Don't you use that tone on me, Brick."

"What tone?"

"The patronizing-a-little-boy tone."

Brick had the gall to look innocently at his youngest brother. "Why, I wouldn't dare—"

"Okay, you can shut up now guys." Boomer suddenly exclaimed, cutting off his redhead brother effectively. "It looks like Koning hired an independent mercenary group to take the third candidate out."

"Which group?" Butch inquired, leaning forward again.

"Some group called The Smiths." Boomer answered, "They're not part of any organizations and usually do private contracting, mostly assassinations and such."

"Why didn't he hire them again?"

"Because that would raise suspicions," Brick replied smoothly while he sat up, "And besides, I doubt he'd risk being connected to two assassinations, so it would only make sense."

The blond bobbed his head in agreement, "So what now? Do we dig up more dirt on Koning?" He gazed down at his watch momentarily, "I mean we're landing in the next half hour."

"Yeah, find out more if you can. And Adler too." The redhead added as an afterthought, "He's not what he seems to be and if _he_'_s_ got any national secrets, that'd be great to hear."

-o-O-o-

Back at the resort hotel, Blossom leaned back against the pillows on her bed as she tried absorbing all the information she just read about Adler. She and her sisters went ahead and looked up more about the man to see if he had any other connections or secrets under his sleeve. And he really did. Buttercup found a gold mine at the South Belheim government database and several other places she cross-referenced. They didn't think their client would be involved in a nuclear weapons pet project that _Koning_ was harboring. They theorized it could also be the reason why Adler was so paranoid and hired them as extra shields in any case Koning actually went after him.

Her sisters were in slight shock too, but considering that they've been in the business for a while, seeing scandalous documents like these weren't out of the norm for most of their clients. But it always pushed a button on Blossom's morality and sometimes she couldn't comprehend why they would do such a thing. She looked over to her sisters. Bubbles didn't look to be too fazed about it, but she was certainly grossed out when they watched the five videos documenting the Chemical X experiments. Buttercup appeared to be engrossed in hacking into other databases to dig more into the case. She now wondered where the recent operations were held and if Adler still kept tabs with it.

"Hey Buttercup," Blossom called, reaching out to nudge at the black-haired sister, "Is Adler still keeping tabs on the operation?"

Her sister glanced up momentarily, "Yep." She confirmed, making an audible popping noise, "Since he's a huge part of the fund. I think he got duped into thinking that it was a medical research operation that was looking into cures for chronic and incurable diseases." Her nails clacked mindlessly on the keyboard as she brought up more files, adjusting her screen so Blossom and Bubbles could see some verification. "So then he found out it was actually a WMD project, he couldn't back out because it would be too suspicious. But I listened to this telephone log I found from an anonymous source—Most likely the CIA and South Belheim's Secret Service because they've been watching Koning for a while now ever since the first bust of his operation—and saw that Adler's only running so he could expose Koning."

"That's a really good find, BC!" Bubbles complimented with a grin, "I always thought it was kind of surprising you'd get into the hacking business." She giggled as she cleaned up one of her sniper rifles.

Buttercup raised an eyebrow at this, "Says the supposedly innocent one with a sniper rifle in hand."

"Enough, you two," Blossom interrupted, sorting back their attention, "We need to focus. What else did you find, Buttercup?"

The brunette huffed and fumbled through her bag to grab a piece of gum before reorienting herself to the computer. "Koning's put the operation on hold because of Adler." She continued, sniffing as she started chewing on her bubble gum, "It's been about…a year and a half since the hiatus of his operation and Koning's getting impatient. It could be why he's planning on having Adler killed soon."

"It's probably why he hired those jerks from Ouroboros too." Bubbles piped up.

Blossom shuffled some papers around, making some markings here and there with her pink gel pen. "Then we should start monitoring the entire resort. The boys could be here already." She bit her lower lip and pointed her pen at Buttercup, "Check the cameras and logs. We need to know all the arrivals from the time Mark Adler reached the resort to any future arrivals."

The brunette was ready and poised but the she paused and looked back over to her sister, "We don't even know what the guys look like. They're pretty fucking evasive like us. How the hell do we know what to look for?"

Blossom thought about this for a moment before snapping up in an 'aha' motion, "They should come in a group of three. At least we know that much. We can assume they can afford some private jets and since they're coming over at a resort like this, they probably have a cover as somebody of importance or just somebody with money in general."

"You mean like what we did?" Bubbles interjected quietly.

"Exactly what we d—," Then the redhead stopped and frowned. Buttercup couldn't help but snicker, "It's kinda funny how more or less our plans coincide with theirs. If you think about it long enough, they could probably mirror our moves and vice versa. I bet their leader thinks like you, _Blossy_."

Her eyebrow twitched and she chucked a pillow in the brunette's direction, "BC, please kindly shut your mouth and get to work."

"Yeah, yeah Leader Girl," Buttercup responded while ducking to avoid getting hit by the pillow. "Don't get your panties in a twist."

Blossom sighed heavily and Bubbles went and patted her sister's shoulder. It was going to be a long day.

-o-O-o-

As soon as the plane touched down, the boys' were already prepared to get out and breathe in some fresh, Italian air. It was making them all restless being cooped up in one place for so long. Mojo turned up from his post in the pilot's cabin, ready to tell the boys that they'd arrive but he was not expecting them to be so awake and ready. He gave them a tiny smile and at exactly twelve o'clock, the plane rolled onto the tarmac. Once the doors opened, the quartet walked out in a single file. Brick adjusted his hat, pulling it down lower as the afternoon sun glared harshly all around them. He kept his jacket on, not bothering about the heat. Boomer took his denim jacket off and fanned himself a bit. It was certainly a tad bit too hot for his liking. Butch slid on a pair of aviators and slung his leather jacket over his shoulder as he strutted down to the resort's airport. He looked around, noticing that a lot of people who came to the resort were money-making goons. There were even some business tycoons and politicians walking amongst the crowd. He made his way up next to Brick and nudged him a bit, inclining his head slightly to gesture towards the many folks in business attire despite the hot, summer sun blazing down on them. They all made note of who was who as they followed after Mojo who led them to the hotel they were staying.

The air conditioner in the hotel lobby was an absolute god-send. It cooled the boys down quickly as the cool air embraced their skin and cradled them so gently. Mojo marched up the front desk, presenting his reservation and the man at the desk slapped down the keycards with a forced smile as he made some small talk about the hot weather outside. Mojo didn't care much and murmured his thanks as soon as he grabbed the keycards.

"I have already sent our luggage to the appropriate rooms." Mojo uttered as he stepped in front of the boys, handing the other keycard to Brick. "You three are allocated in the same room under my name and my room is right across from yours."

"But why do we have to share the same room?" Butch hissed under his breath, "We're not five anymore, Mojo."

Mojo lifted an eyebrow at the brunette and bared his teeth a bit, "It is better for you three to stay together for convenience sake, _boy_." He snapped in irritation, "In this way, you will not alert any suspicions by continually making visits to each other's rooms."

Butch made a move to do something, but Brick held out his hand as a warning and glowered at Butch, "Our boss is right, Butch. We can't risk anything at all, especially since we found out that Phoenix is backing up Adler." The brunet grunted and crossed his arms, pouting like a petulant child but he dropped the issue, considering there were more pressing matters at hand.

Mojo's head snapped up at this, "You mean—"

Brick nodded in confirmation, "Yes, Adler made a contract with them. He's hired extra bodyguards after the scare with the assassinated candidate."

Their boss glanced around and made a hand motion as he turned on his heel, "Then we cannot discuss this here. We must move to our rooms. If what you have said is true, then they might already be watching and waiting for our arrival."

The three boys scrambled quickly after their boss. A new tension settled between the four of them as they rode the elevator to their rooms as paranoia suddenly clutched at them fiercely. Thankfully, Mojo was able to reserve a room in the third floor and nowhere any higher. Brick swiped the keycard into the lock and the door clicked as he pushed it back, shuffling into their room. His eyes carefully examined the place. It was one of the master suites and everyone knew what it came with: extra-large bathrooms, a kitchenette, a small bar and a living room like section in the room. He noticed a door that led to a balcony, which was a pro and a con at the same time. He relaxed a little when he spotted their gear piled neatly at the foot of a King-sized bed. He and his brothers grimaced. They would have to share a bed too? Tch. No matter. They were adults now and sharing a bed shouldn't be a big deal at all. They just sleep in it anyway.

His brothers entered the room and Mojo closed the door behind him softly. They took their places on the pleather couch and tried as much as possible to look a little less ruffled. But it didn't work at all. Boomer swallowed and twitched a bit as the silence grew thicker. He was often antsy when things like this happened.

"So," Butch spoke up, deciding to break the silence, "Even if the girls know we're here, they're not exactly sure what they're looking for. They don't know what we look like anyway and don't know when we've arrived."

"Don't underestimate them, Butch." Brick spat out angrily, "They're a lot smarter than you give them credit for."

"Hey—"

"Fools," Mojo growled out lowly, breaking them up before they could escalate to a fight, "There is a reason why _disguises _were invented."

"If you didn't notice, Mojo, we didn't exactly arrive in _disguises_." The redhead hissed out, "They're gonna notice discrepancies in their logs, if anything."

"You forget, Brick, your brother Boomer has the ability to alter the recorded logs."

The redhead only twitched and closed his mouth shut. His boss was right. At this point, they're going to have to rely on Boomer's video tampering to hide that slip-up and then move on from there. He sighed heavily and leaned back against the couch while crossing his arms. "Alright," He conceded after feeling his irritation fade. Just a little. "What's our cover story?"

Mojo went to grab a briefcase and unlatched it, tossing the papers carefully on the coffee table. "Tonight, a Gala will be hosted at the hotel's ballroom on the thirteenth floor." He began as he pulled out four invitations, all stamped with curled and fancy script. "The hotel kindly delivered us invitations for the social function and we will be present, so be on your best behavior."

Brick narrowed his eyes at Mojo. That was _not _the answer to his question but he knew that his boss was probably going to use the Gala to introduce their cover story."And these?" The redhead gestured towards the sudden pile of papers.

"These—" Mojo said, lips curling into a small smirk as he handed one file towards Brick, "—are your new identities, boys. You must have them learned before eight o'clock tonight. After all, we would not want our esteemed guests to miss the Gala, would we?"

All three boys groaned quietly. This was certainly going to be a long day.

-o-O-o-

* * *

**A/N: **Well, here we go again, another chapter done. It's kind of a slow burn, isn't it? I apologize, slow burn is just a beautiful thing. Hopefully there won't be too many holes in the story.

Expect sporadic updates at best.

As always, reviews, follows and favourites are _most_ welcome and it helps keep up my motivation.


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